Electronic devices can be powered in many different ways. One common way to power electronic devices is to use battery sets of one or more batteries. Often times, the batteries are replaceable batteries of standard battery cell sizes (for example AA or AAA). There are many different types of batteries with different advantages such as cost, battery life, rechargeable/disposable, etc. For example, there are alkaline batteries, 1.5V lithium batteries, 3V lithium batteries as well as rechargeable lithium batteries.
This creates an issue in that different battery technologies require different type of battery status functions to accurately determine remaining charge level in the battery set.
US2011/0309839 shows calibration electronic devices to facilitate accurate identification of the types of batteries used with the electronic devices. A parasitic resistance is calculated of the electronic device, to enable identification of the battery as rechargeable or non-rechargeable. However, this method requires an accurately calibrated voltage source. It is desired not to place such a requirement on each device where the battery type should be determined, which implies complexity and cost during the manufacture of the electronic device comprising the batteries.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,404,164 B1 discloses a method of identifying battery chemistry of a battery in an electronic device by monitoring voltage behavior of the battery in response to a stimulus. However, both the application of stimulus and the monitoring of response require accurate timing and fast processing.